Mazda Protege Idling Issues

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A common thing for a protege' to do is to vibrate when in gear. The car's engine was designed with only 92 hp, so the engineers had to put all of it to the ground. The protege' has a strong get up and go, so it will tend to do that. Check under the hood while someone else is in the drivers seat, and listen. Move around to see if you can figure out where the sound is coming from. It is most likely just a loose part, or a piece of road debris.

I just recovered from this problem today. Your problem is your alternator. It has been damaged, and needs to be replaced. It's not putting out enough juice to power all your appliances in the car, so cuts corners on important electronics like headlights, and speedometer, and the airbag light will flash. Be very careful, as a flashing airbag light means there is not enough power to deploy them in case of a crash. Replace your alternator, by removing your catalytic converter, if you have AC. If not, undo your cruise control, and the other module below it, and pull your alternator out the top. There is no other way. Also, make sure your battery is good, and your connection post and clamps are free of corrosion and rust.Hope this helps.

PS: Your radio died first because it takes the most power, besides the engine and headlights.

There is nothing wrong with your car that I know of. It's running high at first to heat up, so it doesn't die. The engine is designed to idle at 900rpm, so if it drops to that after a few when cold, everything is normal.

Having problem with code #Pll35 Manufacturer Control Fuel Air Metering.Put in two new mass air flow sensors and still coming up with same code. Has any one had this problem, and if so how do you fix the problem.

Hello;i own a mazda protege 97 1.5,recently i had so many issue ,i havea thread already in the mazda protege forum,if you read you can understande what i went trough,just to give a follow up,after i had all the inspections done my car first time yhe engine died ,i took back to the meccanic and they replace the battery the egr valve light come on again,i since then replace the egr valve check all the hose and maf aitr filter atc everything seems fine,after i replace the egr valve the car run great,but after few hours i start up again and the car as the symptoms again,actually it gasp ,trottle when take off or stop in gear, the meccanic could not find anything else,but i let the engine run a little and listen where the noise is coming from when i give gas,and that schriekin sound is comin from the alternator.my question to you is ;is possible that the alternator is causing the gasping,and drain my battery before?and mabye it was nothing wrong with the egr r valve in the first place. I will have the alternator tested altough the car never as a problem when i ride on highways.THANKS

I have a 96 protege and just recently I was driving and all the sudden the rpm's went all the way into the red. Now when I turn the car on it does the same thing, the rpm's go way over into the red?? Anyone know what this may be?

driving and all the sudden the rpm's went all the way into the red. Now when I turn the car on it does the same thing

Could be a few things ... When my EGR valve failed, it caused the car to rev wildly as if it was gasping for air. The EGR valve is part of the emissions control system. You may want to have a diagnostic test done to determine the exact problem.

Hello,I've similar idling problems to many others; mine is a '96 with 100,000. Mechanic said "Idle air control valve", and also the torn intake air hose (bad engine mounts let the engine shift and it has pulled this hose to pieces). Ordered the hose on ebay; meanwhile, it's taped. Replaced the IAC valve (ebay, also). No change: rough, variable RPM while in gear and stopped, okay when driving or in P or N. Question: manual says resistance on the IAC valve terminals ranges from 1070-1230 ohms; both the old and the ebay replacement measure 880 ohms. Curious that they're both 880 (unless, of course, they're both 100,000 miles old!). Is the manual accurate? Thanks, Matt

my 96 protege idles at 2300 when starting cold then will drop to 800 after about 1 minuteYes, that does sound a bit high to me.Could be a bunch of things: cold, not driven frequently, throttle body/fuel system dirty ... My 2002 starts at 1100 before dropping to 800..

Next time you bring it to a garage, mention it to your mechanic to hear what he says.

I purchased my 2000 Protege 1.8 ES with 135K on it, and it had a low idle and eventually would stall under moderate to hard acceleration. I took it to Autozone for the code readout and got "system too lean", and "cyl. 4 misfire". I read some forums, and the car now had a brand new EGR valve, brand new ignition coils, which didn't help at all. I just got done installing a new intake manifold gasket, and now the car idles very high (between 2500 and 3500 RPM), and the hesitation under acceleration has not been cured. HELP!

brand new EGR valve, brand new ignition coils ... new intake manifold gasketSounds like you might need to bite the bullet and bring it into a Mazda garage to get the diagnostic and their suggested cure. Otherwise, you may end up spending even more money replacing parts that are not the problem. Good luck!

Yes, that's the point I'm at. No sense in throwing darts, as they say, just finding that out the hard way. As for the high idle, I just installed the accelerator cable incorrectly, quick fix. My biggest fear is the head gasket, I've changed one in an '83 beamer but it wasn't this modern. No signs of that though, does not burn antifreeze or oil. Good thing the Mazda dealership is about 5 minutes down the road

i've heard sooo many people have a problem with bad idle 200-1000 rpms!this is a nightmare on proteges but what ive done is give you my checklist right before you go to mazda. remember keep it simple! 1996 mazda protege1. replace your air filter if bad2. get some cfc maf cleaner only clean maf sensor (located in top of air filter cover 15 shots of spray through the screen side only and wait 15min til dry)3.remove air hose between maf sensor and throttle body in the accordian section check for rips any cracks replace remember when replacing air filter to remove this hose or you will crack it.(this also can be caused by a bad motor mount)4.egr valve located on backside of intake remove intake hose, 2 12mm bolts and label the two vacuum hoses on egr. with brakekleen spray into 2 holes with carbon build up clean shaft well oil then press diaphram up and put your finger on vacuum hole if diaphram doesn't hold and move freely replace.5.check catalytic converter basically go to tail pipe and check for good flow of exhaust6. battery /alternator clean teminals, load test battery,with multimeter in dc check voltage you should be getting atleast 13.8 volts @idle7. Iac sensor i leave this for last because its pricey so far my check list has cost you a bottle of cfc maf cleaner and your time at this point head to mazdahope this helps

If you own a Protege, just call a Mazda dealership service shop and give them the VIN. They can look it up for you. We have recall info on our site, and NHTSA has it too, but you're stuck looking year-by-year.

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Didn't see anything on the list related to the MAF on your year/trim level.Still, if you have a half-decent dealership in your area, it would only take them a minute or two to look it up by VIN. I've never had a dealership charge me to do so.

I had a '96 Protege that was very kind to me.

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